Related papers: Zooming in to Massive Star Birth
We present observations of the intermediate to massive star-forming region I05345+3157 using the molecular line tracer CS(2-1) with CARMA to reveal the properties of the dense gas cores. Seven gas cores are identified in the integrated…
The massive infrared dark cloud G0.253+0.016 projected 45pc from the Galactic centre contains ~10^5Msun of dense gas whilst being mostly devoid of observed star-formation tracers. To scrutinise the physical properties, dynamics and…
This article presents high-resolution interferometric mosaics in the 850 micron waveband of two massive, quiescent infrared dark clouds. The two clouds were chosen based on their likelihood to represent environments preceding the formation…
Our search for the earliest stages of massive star formation turned up twelve massive pre-protocluster candidates plus a few protoclusters. For this search, we selected 47 FIR-bright IRAS sources in the outer Galaxy. We mapped regions of…
Pre-stellar cores represent the initial conditions of star formation. Although these initial conditions in nearby low-mass star-forming regions have been investigated in detail, such initial conditions remain vastly unexplored for massive…
We attempt to make a complete census of massive-star formation within all of GMC G345.5+1.0. This cloud is located one degree above the galactic plane and at 1.8 kpc from the Sun, thus there is little superposition of dust along the…
The early evolution during massive star cluster formation is still uncertain. Observing embedded clusters at their earliest stages of formation can provide insight into the spatial and temporal distribution of the stars and thus probe…
The ALMA-IMF Large Program imaged a total noncontiguous area of 53pc2, covering 15 extreme, nearby protoclusters of the Milky Way. They were selected to span relevant early protocluster evolutionary stages. Our 1.3mm and 3mm observations…
Combining mid-infrared data from the SPITZER Space Telescope with cold gas and dust emission observations from the Plateau de Bure Interferometer, we characterize the Infrared Dark Cloud IRDC18223-3 at high spatial resolution. The…
The current generation of millimeter interferometers have revealed a population of compact (r <~ 0.1 pc), massive (M ~ 100 Msun) gas cores that are the likely progenitors of massive stars. I review models for the evolution of these objects…
The relative importance of primordial molecular cloud fragmentation versus large-scale accretion still remains to be assessed in the context of massive core/star formation. Studying the kinematics of the dense gas surrounding massive-star…
We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) \lambda = 0.88mm observations of an infrared dark cloud (IRDC) G28.34+0.06. Located in the quiescent southern part of the G28.34 cloud, the region of interest is a massive ($>10^3$\,\msun) molecular…
We present observations of CO(3-2) and $^{13}$CO(3-2) emission near the supernebula in the dwarf galaxy NGC 5253, which contains one of the best examples of a potential globular cluster in formation. The 0.3" resolution images reveal an…
Infrared-dark clouds (IRDCs) are the precursors to massive stars and stellar clusters. G011.11-0.12 is a well-studied filamentary IRDC, though, to date, the absence of far-infrared data with sufficient spatial resolution has limited the…
A sample of 1.3 mm continuum cores in the Dragon infrared dark cloud (also known as G28.37+0.07 or G28.34+0.06) is analyzed statistically. Based on their association with molecular outflows, the sample is divided into protostellar and…
We present high spatial (<300 AU) and spectral (0.07 km/s) resolution Submillimeter Array observations of the dense starless cluster core Oph A-N6, in the 1 mm dust continuum and the 3-2 line of N2H+ and N2D+. The dust continuum…
Stars like our Sun form in self-gravitating dense and cold structures within interstellar clouds, called pre-stellar cores. Although much is known about the physical structure of dense clouds just before and soon after the switch-on of a…
Context. The different theoretical models concerning the formation of high-mass stars make distinct predictions regarding their progenitors, i.e. the high-mass prestellar cores. However, so far no conclusive observation of such objects has…
We present a comparative study of several molecular lines and of the dust contiunuum at 1.2mm in a pre-stellar core that is embedded in the Galactic cirrus cloud MCLD123.5+24.9. Previous studies found that the core is gravitationally stable…
In this contribution, our knowledge of the initial conditions under which massive star formation takes place is reviewed. Massive stars are born in massive clumps of giant molecular clouds (GMCs), hence first the properties of GMCs are…